AN 


APPEAL 


TO    THE 


PEOPLE  OF  MASSACHUSETTS, 


ON 


THE    TEXAS    QUESTION 


F 
A  4 


BOSTON: 

CHARLES   C.  LITTLE  AND  JAMES   BROWN. 
1844. 


w/n-e 


C  A  M  B  R  I  D  G  E : 

METCALF      AND      C O M P A W Y 

PRINTERS   TO    THE    UNIVERSITY. 


APPEAL. 


THE  course  pursued  by  the  Administration  in  reference 
to  the  annexation  of  Texas  renders  a  crisis  inevitable.  As 
the  policy  is  developed,  — as  its  consequences  begin  to  be 
seriously  contemplated,  — as  the  spirit  of  the  movement  is  clear- 
ly manifested,  —  the  people  of  the  Free  States  will  cease  to  be 
apathetic,  and,  under  the  circumstances  which  may  arise,  can 
hardly  fall  to  become  intensely  excited.  The  tone  of  the 
Message  and  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  correspondence  has  at  once 
deprived  the  Northern  advocates  of  the  measure  of  the  advan- 
tage of  a  prudent  and  tc  humbugging"  policy.  Mr.  Calhoun's 
views  have  exploded  the  theory,  seized  upon  with  avidity  by 
some  who  have  evidently  been  desirous  of  misleading  others, 
that  the  annexation  of  Texas  might  tend  to  the  abolition  of 
slavery.  It  is  now  clear  that  the  only  design  of  the  measure 
—  the  avowed  design,  too  —  is,  to  fortify,  extend,  and  perpetu- 
ate the  slave-holding  power  ;  to  insure  to  the  Slave-holding 
States  the  control  of  the  General  Government  for  all  domes- 
tic purposes  ;  and  to  make  the  General  Government,  in  their 
hands,  instrumental  in  effecting  a  foreign  policy  which  shall 
place  this  country  in  immediate,  and  constant  hostility  to  Eng- 
land upon  the  great  question  of  universal  emancipation,  and 
in  reference  to  all  measures  and  interests  connected  therewith. 

Now,  that  this  is  a  project  as  dangerous  as  it  is  wicked,  and 
as  alarming  as  it  is  bold,  will  be  seen  —  and  it  may  be  pre- 
l 


sumed  that  it  is  already  seen  and  felt  —  by  the  great  mass  of 
the  people  of  the  Free  States.  The  Message  and  its  ac- 
companying documents  have  scarcely  yet  reached  the  extremi- 
ties of  the  Free  States  ;  but  such  was  the  prevailing  anxiety 
in  advance  of  their  reception,  that  it  cannot  be  doubted  they 
will  be  universally  and  eagerly  read  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment,  —  and  that,  as  soon  as  they  are  read,  there  will  be  but 
one  feeling  in  regard  to  what  is  about  to  be  attempted  by  the 
Administration,  and  in  respect  to  the  duty,  to  the  extent  of 
what  is  practicable,  of  defeating  such  an  attempt. 

The  chief  point  for  consideration  is,  therefore,  What  is  prac- 
ticable ?  Some  appear  to  be  too  faint-hearted  to  think  long 
enough  to  answer  this  question.  But  with  a  little  considera- 
tion, we  may  be  able  to  answer  it  in  such  terms  as  not  only 
to  suggest  a  practicable  course,  but  to  encourage  us  to  pursue  it. 

In  the  first  place,  let  it  be  suggested  that  it  must  be  much 
easier  to  concentrate  public  sentiment  in  the  Free  States  upon 
the  question  of  Annexation,  now  that  it  can  be  presented  as  a 
distinct  issue,  —  not  connected  with  an  election,  —  than  when  it 
was  merged,  by  common  consent,  in  the  support  of  candidates 
for  the  Presidency,  the  position  of  no  one  of  whom,  or  at 
most  of  only  one,  (Mr.  Polk,)  was  unquestionable  or  une- 
quivocal in  respect  to  this  subject  in  all  its  bearings.  No 
Whig  can  fail  to  admit  that  the  Whig  party,  in  many  of  the 
Free  States,  was  seriously  embarrassed  and  weakened  by  the 
letters  of  Mr.  Clay  upon  this  subject  ;  and  deeply  as  it  is 
regretted,  and  clearly  as  it  now  appears  to  have  been  a  fatal 
error  of  policy,  the  unwillingness  of  many  zealous  and  honest 
Abolitionists  to  come  in  to  the  support  of  Mr.  Clay  is  in  some 
measure  palliated  by  the  consideration,  that  they  could  only  be 
expected  to  support  Mr.  Clay  for  the  sake  of  opposing  Mr. 
Polk,  — and  that  his  friends  had  no  warrant  for  claiming  in  be- 
half of  Mr.  Clay  any  principles  or  opinions  which  could  en- 
title him  to  the  confidence  and  sympathy  of  those  who  con- 
sidered this  question,  primarily,  if  not  solely,  in  its  connection 


with  slavery.  The  Whigs  in  the  Free  States  were  also  all  the 
while  deterred  from  arguing  the  Texas  question  upon  its  broad 
merits,  through  the  fear  of  producing  a  dangerous  reaction  in  the 
Slave-holding  States,  whose  votes  they  unfortunately  relied 
upon.  In  some  degree,  occasionally,  incidentally,  sufficient- 
ly to  show  that  they  recognized  and  concurred  in  the  public 
sentiment  of  their  own  communities,  they  alluded  to  it  in 
speeches,  and  introduced  it  into  Resolutions  ;  but,  as  a  party, 
with  the  exceptions  which  will  be  stated,  they  did  not  attempt 
to  make  the  election  turn  upon  it.  No  :  in  justice  to  an  im- 
portant view  of  the  subject,  but  without  the  slightest  wish  to 
reproach  the  Whigs  of  the  Free  States,  let  the  truth  be  con- 
fessed, —  that  their  position,  their  candidate,  their  relation  to 
Southern  Whigs,  the  fatal  idea  that  they  were  sure  to  succeed 
without  doing  so  in  the  North,  and  in  part  by  reason  of  not 
doing  so  in  the  South,  the  prevalent  disposition  amongst  them 
to  abstain  from  any  seeming  cooperation  in  the  measures  of 
Abolitionists,  combined  to  deter  them  from  making  the  Texas 
question  the  main  issue  in  the  election,  and  from  occupying  that 
decisive  position  in  regard  to  it,  which  might  have  secured  to 
them  the  vote  of  every  Free  State,  —  or  would  have  placed 
them,  as  a  defeated  party,  in  an  attitude  of  moral  dignity  and 
hearty  union,  the  surest  vantage-ground  for  a  final  struggle. 

The  Whig  Free  States  entitled  to  be  exempted  from  the 
application  of  the  foregoing  remarks  are  MASSACHUSETTS  and 
VERMONT.  In  both  of  these  States  the  Whigs  ventured  to 
speak  and  act  openly  and  boldly,  and  to  commit  themselves  in 
reference  to  future  action  upon  the  slavery  issues.  In  both 
of  these  States,  instead  of  purposely  avoiding  to  do  so,  the 
Whigs  aimed  to  make  their  candidates  for  State  offices  such 
as  were  beyond  doubt  or  suspicion  upon  these  points  ;  and 
throughout  the  canvass,  in  a  course  of  deliberative  discussion 
which  proved  that  they  were  contending  for  principles,  the 
Whig  speakers  labored  effectively  to  exhibit  the  most  striking 
views  of  this  great  topic,  —  TEXAS  AND  SLAVERY,  "one  and 
1  * 


inseparable."  The  result  shows  that  what  was  thus  done  is 
what  should  have  been  done  ;  and  it  shows,  too,  with  what 
power  and  to  what  extent  public  opinion  has  already  declared 
itself  in  these  two  States,  when  indirectly  appealed  to  for  the 
purpose,  —  and  what  may  be  expected  of  f/iew,  when  the  call 
is  made  to  rally  exclusively  for  the  vindication  of  the  right  of 
Free  States,  and  of  free  citizens  of  the  Union,  against  the 
arrogant,  unconstitutional,  and  mercenary  demands  of  the 
slave-holding  power. 

To  some  extent,  the  prevailing  policy  of  the  Whigs,  in  ab- 
staining from  presenting  a  direct  issue  upon  the  Texas  ques- 
tion, was  adopted  by  their  opponents  in  the  Free  States. 
Absurd  as  such  a  course  appears,  it  was  the  course  pursued 
by  an  important  section  of  the  Democratic  party  in  New  York, 
to  give  their  support  to  Mr.  Polk,  under  a  faintly  uttered  pro- 
test against  the  recognition  of  his  principles  and  purposes  in 
regard  to  the  annexation  of  Texas,  — coupled  with  a  concerted 
effort  to  elect  such  Democratic  members  of  Congress  as 
would  not  cooperate  in  carrying  them  into  effect.  Nowhere 
in  that  State  was  the  election  contested  upon  the  Texas  issue, 
fairly  and  fully  presented  ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  investigate 
the  proceedings  of  the  Democratic  party  in  detail,  without 
reaching  the  conclusion,  that  many  of  the  leaders  are  in  reality 
opposed  to  Annexation,  —  and  that  all  of  them  acted  cautiously, 
upon  the  presumption  that  the  party  could  not  be  carried  for 
the  measure,  if  openly  and  unconditionally  proposed.  In  New 
York,  still  further,  as  the  result  of  the  election,  the  electo- 
ral vote  of  the  State  was  given  to  Mr.  Polk,  merely  because 
upwards  of  fifteen  thousand  opponents  of  Annexation  were 
not  prepared  to  support  Mr.  Clay,  and,  by  running  a  third 
ticket,  —  although  they  thereby  contributed  to  place  Mr.  Polk 
in  a  minority,  —  made  themselves  instrumental  in  securing  all  the 
political,  and,  so  far  as  it  is  misunderstood,  all  the  moral,  effect 
of  a  triumph  to  the  candidate  of  a  minority.  Where  the  facts 
are  not  misunderstood,  it  is  seen  that  Mr.  Polk  has  received  the 


electoral  vote  of  New  York  in  opposition  to  the  declared 
wishes  of  a  majority  of  her  citizens,  —  and  that  he  has  thereby, 
against  the  true  voice  of  the  people,  become  the  President 
elect.  Upon  analyzing  the  result,  and  obtaining  an  explanation 
of  some  unusual  facts,  it  has  been  satisfactorily  shown,  that,  had 
the  election  in  New  York  turned  upon  the  Texas  question,  — 
had  but  two  candidates  been  proposed  as  representing  the  op- 
posite sides  of  that  question, —  and  had  all  party  and  personal 
considerations  not  affecting  that  question  been  for  the  time 
foregone,  —  the  decision  of  New  York  would  have  been  as  em- 
phatically pronounced  against  Annexation  as  has  been  the  de- 
cision of  Massachusetts  and  Vermont. 

What  is  thus  inferred  from  notorious  and  striking  facts  in  re- 
gard to  the  public  sentiment  in  New  York  may  unquestion- 
ably be  assumed  in  reference  to  most  of  the  other  Free  States 
whose  electoral  votes  have  been  given  to  Mr.  Polk.  In 
Michigan  the  result  was  precisely  analogous  to  that  in  New 
York  ;  the  choice  having  been  secured  to  Mr.  Polk,  as  the 
highest  candidate,  by  a  minority  of  votes,  in  consequence  of  a 
considerable  support  of  a  third  ticket  by  the  Abolitionists. 
In  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  there  may  be  less  reason  than 
elsewhere  for  imputing  to  the  leaders,  or  to  the  body  of  the 
u  Democracy,"  the  honorable  motive  of  being  incapable  of  sur- 
rendering unconditionally  and  irrevocably,  without  honor  and 
without  benefit,  the  rights  and  interests  which  belong  to  them 
as  Free  States  ;  still,  even  in  New  Hampshire  and  in 
Maine,  facts  are  not  wanting  to  prove  that  a  right  spirit  is  be- 
ginning to  manifest  itself,  and  that  even  there  party  discipline 
will  prove  insufficient  to  force  a  wrong  decision  upon  a  ques- 
tion which  a  free  people  must  in  the  end  resolve  to  understand 
and  decide  for  themselves.- 

Many  details  might  be  added  which  would  fortify  the' posi- 
tion, that  the  recent  election  should  be  construed  only  as  prov- 
ing conclusively,  although  indirectly,  that  the  Free  States  are 
not  to  be  supposed  indifferent  to  or  unprepared  for  the  per- 


formance  of  their  proper  duty  upon  the  Texas  question.  It 
cannot  be  inferred  that  the  subject  has  as  yet  been  duly  weighed 
or  fully  discussed,  and  that  the  people  are  ready  on  the  instant 
to  rise  in  the  strength  of  their  intelligence  and  moral  firmness 
to  say  and  to  do  all  that  becomes  them.  Time  —  a  little 
time  used  to  the  best  purpose — may  be  raquired  to  make  every 
thing  properly  understood  ;  but  let  every  thing  connected  with 
the  subject  be  properly  understood,  —  let  it  be  seen  and  felt  that 
a  crisis  is  impending,  — let  our  moral  and  religious  obligations, 
in  connection  with  our  civil  and  social  duties,  be  so  expounded 
that  they  shall  be  universally  realized,  —  let  the  call  be  made 
upon  .all  citizens,  without  distinction  of  party,  to  act  together  for 
this  purpose  alone,  —  and  it  must  be  to  disbelieve  all  that  ever 
has  been  true  of  the  people  of  the  Free  States,  all  that  is  glo- 
rious in  their  history,  the  great  principles  which  have  made 
them  what  they  are,  and  the  admitted  tendencies  of  their  insti- 
tutions, to  suppose  it  doubtful  that  they  will  respond  to  such  a 
call  promptly,  harmoniously,  and  effectually. 

In  Massachusetts,  let  us  thank  God,  it  has  never  yet  been  true 
that  an  attempt  to  sustain  her  character  has  failed,  —  or  that 
her  example,  in  any  exigency,  has  been  without  its  effect  upon 
her  sister  States.  She  has  never  been  without  leaders  who 
seem  to  have  been  born  for  great  occasions  ;  and  they  have 
never  begun  to  make  the  efforts  required  of  them  without  find- 
ing themselves  strengthened,  beyond  their  utmost  expectations, 
by  public  confidence,  sympathy,  and  support.  From  the  com- 
mencement of  the  preparations  for  the  American  Revolution, 
to  conceive  a  high  and  noble  purpose  has  been  in  her  history 
but  the  first  step  in  an  irresistible  progress  towards  its  accom- 
plishment, under  whatever  circumstances  of  difficulty  or  dan- 
ger ;  and  so  long  as  the  Bible  inspires  faith  in  God,  and  the 
Bunker  Hill  Monument  reminds  us  of  what  our  fathers  dared 
and  suffered  for  liberty,  so  long  may  it  be  expected  that  no 
'crisis  will  find  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  on  the  score  of 
principle  or  courage,  unprepared  to  meet  it. 


To  the  question,  —  What  is  practicable  for  the  purpose  of 
exerting  an  effectual  influence  in  opposition  to  the  annexation  of 
Texas  ?  —  let  the  answer  be  given,  that,  the  question  being  such 
as  it  is, — of  vital  importance  to  the  rights  and  interests,  and 
involving  the  character,  of  the  Free  States,  —  it  needs  only  to 
be  properly  presented  for  consideration  to  insure  its  being  con- 
sidered ;  and  that  the  people  of  the  Free  States,  as  soon  as 
they  can  deliberate  upon  the  subject,  will  be  ready  to  act. 
That  they  may  deliberate  and  act  at  once,  —  that  their  proceed- 
ings may  be  as  prompt  and  effective  as  possible,  — it  is  manifest- 
ly expedient  that  somewhere,  and,  for  the  reasons  implied  in 
the  preceding  paragraph,  it  is  proposed  that  in  Massachusetts, 
a  CONVENTION  OF  THE  PEOPLE,  without  distinction  (f  party, 
should  be  called,  to  express  the  sentiments  of  the  people  upon 
the  TEXAS  QUESTION,  in  all  its  bearings.  At  this  Convention 
let  there  be  a  discussion  worthy  of  the  object,  and  of  the 
character  of  those  assembled  to  accomplish  it.  Let  our  lead- 
ing statesmen  expound  the  true  design  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  and  show  ho  v  it  is  proposed  to  disregard 
and  violate  it.  Let  them  exhibit  in  detail  the  origin  and 
progress  of  the  Texas  project,  and  show  conclusively  in  what 
it  must  result.  Let  them  illustrate,  from  the  political  history  of 
the  country,  the  succession  of  evils  which  have  resulted  from  the 
attempt  to  maintain  the  Union  upon  the  impracticable  basis  of  an 
exact  and  perpetual  equipoise  of  Free  and  Slave-holding  States, 
—  and  from  regarding  as  the  most  sacred  provisions  of  the  Con- 
stitution those  which  contain,  without  alluding  to  it,  the  avowed 
guaranties  of  slavery.  Let  them  show  also,  historically,  how 
far  it  was  from  the  intention  of  the  framers  of  the  Constitution 
to  regard  slavery  otherwise  than  as  a  temporary  institution, 
a  political  and  moral  evil,  and  an  unsuitable  element  of  a  repub- 
lican government  ;  and  how  little  they  designed  to  entail  upon 
their  posterity,  for  a  succession  of  generations,  and  without 
any  provision  for  relief,  such  a  burden  as  slavery  has  proved  in 
all  its  direct  and  indirect  consequences,  —  in  its  influence  upon 


10 

the  master,  as  well  as  upon  the  slave,  —  and  in  its  tendency  to 
obstruct  the  establishment  of  an  enlightened  national  policy,  to 
multiply  sources  of  social  and  civil  degradation,  and  to  excite 
and  produce  never-ending  and  wide-spread  disaffection  and 
animosity  among  those  who,  as  fellow-countrymen,  ought  to  be, 
and  but  for  this  cause  might  be,  political  brethren.  Let  them 
expose  the  short-sighted  policy  which  has  once  and  again  misled 
and  insnared  so  many  of  the  constituted  guardians  of  the  rights 
and  interests  of  the  Free  States,  under  the  pretext  of  a  patri- 
otic compromise  of  sectional  differences,  — by  inducing  them  to 
concur  in  authorizing  the  annexation  of  Slave  Territory  and  the 
multiplication  of  Slave  States,  and  in  thus  preventing,  for  an 
indefinite  period,  the  natural  extinction  of  the  national  curse. 
Let  them  refer  to  the  pregnant  fact,  that  it  was  only  the  last 
census  which  began  to  show  clearly,  that,  if  the  Union  should 
remain  as  it  is,  it  is  the  destiny  of  the  Free  States  to  ascend, 
and  of  the  Slave-holding  States  to  descend,  in  the  scale  of  po- 
litical power,  according  to  the  increase  or  diminution  of  their 
respective  delegations  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  in 
the  electoral  colleges  ;  and  that  it  is  just  at  this  juncture,  —  be- 
fore another  census  shall  have  put  it  for  ever  out  of  the  power 
of  the  Slave-holding  States  to  maintain  their  pretensions,  and 
before  the  organization  of  the  Free  States  which  are  rapidly 
growing  up  within  the  territories  of  Wisconsin  and  Iowa  shall 
have  destroyed,  also  for  ever,  the  balance  of  power  in  the  Senate, 
upon  which  they  relied  as  their  last  security,  —  that  they  have 
resorted,  with  the  madness  of  desperation,  to  the  anomalous  ex- 
pedient of  extending  slavery  into  the  regions  of  a  sister  repub- 
lic, and  of  procuring  the  annexation  of  that  republic  to  this, 
through  a  series  of  measures  commencing  in  a  clandestine  nego- 
tiation on  the  part  of  the  President  and  his  Cabinet,  — which, 
foiled  by  the  wisdom  and  firmness  of  a  patriotic  Senate,  is  to 
be  followed  by  an  attempt  to  overthrow  the  executive  functions 
of  the  Senate  by  an  utterly  unconstitutional  exercise  of  legis- 
lative power.  In  this  manner,  but  to  a  much  greater  extent, 


11 

let  the  serious  and  weighty  political  considerations  of  which 
the  subject  is  fruitful  be  plainly  and  forcibly  urged  upon  public 
attention  ;  and  let  the  statesmen,  who  can  do  it  with  so  much 
effect,  mature  and  propound  the  policy  of  the  Free  States,  — 
which,  for  the  prevention  of  the  threatened  evil,  should  be  firm- 
ly and  fearlessly  avowed  and  adopted. 

But  let  not  the  voice  of  statesmen  alone  be  heard  upon  an 
occasion  of  such  general  interest.  Let  the  many  enlightened 
and  virtuous  citizens  amongst  us,  to  whom  political  questions 
are  not  ordinarily  interesting,  who  retire  from  party  contests, 
but  who,  nevertheless,  are  ready  to  serve  their  country  when 
in  danger,  and  who  take  a  deep  interest  in  all  movements  affect- 
ing the  welfare  of  their  race,  —  let  our  philanthropists  from  every 
sphere  of  beneficence,  —  let  our  clergy,  who,  if  they  are  dis- 
ciples as  well  as  apostles  of  Christ,  must  be  sure  to  unite  their 
prayers  and  counsels  in  such  a  cause,  —  let  our  good  men  of 
every  class  and  age, —  the  long  retired,  and  the  still  active,  — all 
who  have  hearts  to  feel,  and  who  dare  to  obey  their  conscien- 
ces,—  all  who  can  and  must  act  in  more  or  less  important  spheres 
of  influence,  and  whose  example  will  be  regarded,  —  let  all 
such,  a  select  yet  mighty  multitude,  be  found,  upon  the  call  for  a 
Convention,  u  of  one  accord  in  one  place  "  ;  and  with  hearty 
good-will,  let  them  stimulate,  and  encourage,  and  help  each 
other  to  perform  a  common  duty. 

If  the  members  of  the  Convention  are  agreed  in  sentiment 
and  feeling,  —  as  who  does  not  foresee  that  when  they  will  thus 
come  together  they  must  be  ?  —  let  them  appoint  a  committee 
consisting  of  such  as  are  worthy  of  so  high  a  trust,  to  address 
to  Congress  a  Memorial,  which  shall  set  forth,  in  "thoughts 
that  breathe  and  words  that  burn,"  their  principles  and  pur- 
poses, —  which  shall  present  in  bold  outline  and  in  its  full  dimen- 
sions the  Constitutional  argument  which  the  case  requires,  — 
which  shall  recite  all  the  reasons  and  plainly  declare  the  mo- 
tives that  justify  their  determination  to  maintain  the  Union  as  it 
is,  in  opposition  to  a  design  rebuked  alike  by  the  object  of  the 


12 

Union   and   the  spirit  of  the  Constitution,  and  conflicting  di- 
rectly with  the  highest  purposes  of  a  republican  government. 

In  such  a  Memorial  there  need  be  no  threat,  but  there  should 
be  the  decisive  indication  of  a  determined  spirit.  It  should 
be  clothed  with  strength,  the  strength  of 'argument  ;  it  should 
be  armed  with  power,  the  power  of  moral  and  religious  princi- 
ple ;  and  it  should  go  forth  upon  a  high  and  holy  mission  to 
reach  the  understandings,  the  consciences,  and  the  hearts  of 
those  to  whom  it  is  addressed.  It  should  be  a  document  so 
marked  in  its  character,  and  so  well  adapted  in  its  style  and 
tone  to  engage  and  fix  public  attention,  that,  from  this  cause, 
as  well  as  because  it  must  derive  so  much  authority  from  the 
occasion  of  its  adoption,  it  will  be  worthy  of  a  historical  com- 
panionship with  the  memorable  documents  emanating  from 
Massachusetts  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  —  which  wrought 
conviction  in  the  minds  of  Burke  and  Chatham,  which  flashed 
the  light  of  prophecy  upon  a  long  blinded  ministry,  and  which 
converted  the  haughty  tone  of  menace  into  the  submissive  ac- 
cents of  conciliation.  Such  a  Memorial  should  also  answer 
the  purpose  of  an  appeal,  or  should  be  coupled  with  an  appeal, 
to  the  people  of  the  other  Free  States,  —  prompting  them  all 
to  the  presentation  of  similar  Memorials,  and  thus  insuring  the 
full  effect  of  their  combined  efforts. 

To  have  held  such  a  Convention,  and  to  have  presented 
such  a  Memorial,  will  have  prepared  Massachusetts,  and  in 
succession  all  the  Free  States,  for  all  further  duties  connected 
with  the  object.  An  organization  will  have  been  formed  which 
will  necessarily  subsist  in  unimpaired  vigor,  so  long  as  there 
shall  be  occasion  for  it  ;  and  which,  by  degrees,  can  hardly  fail 
to  extend  itself  sufficiently  to  embrace  the  great  mass  of  the 
people  of  all  the  Free  States,  —  if  so  be  that  nothing  short  of 
such  a  mighty  movement  can  arrest  the  conspiracy  which  has 
been  formed  against  them.  When  the  tide  shall  flow  to  this 
height,  —  when  only  the  moral  influence  of  the  united  action 
of  the  Free  States  shall  begin  to  be  felt,  —  who  can  doubt 


J  O 

Bancroft  Librwv 

that  it  will  sweep  away  at  once,  and  for  ever,  all  that  is  op- 
posed to  it  ?  Let  the  power  of  the  Slave-holding  States  — 
as  many  as  they  are,  and  united  if  they  can  be — threaten  and 
dare  its  utmost,  be  it  disunion,  nullification,  or,  in  the  worst 
event,  civil  war  ;  the  Free  States  will  have  only  to  maintain 
with  dignity  and  firmness  their  appropriate  position  under  the 
Constitution  and  within  the  Union,  and  await  without  appre- 
hension the  certain  result  of  so  unequal  a  contest.  Where 
there  is  a  contest,  Freedom  can  never  be  overcome  by  Slav- 
ery ;  "  the  Almighty  has  no  attribute"  that  will  not  take  part  on 
the  side  of  truth  and  justice  ;  and  the  sympathy  of  the  free  and 
good,  the  world  over,  will  cheer  them  on  to  a  glorious  victory. 
We  may  thus  anticipate  a  contest,  and  we  may  safely  pre- 
dict a  victory  ;  but,  proposing  the  use  of  no  other  weapons 
than  argument  and  persuasion,  and  relying  upon  the  moral  pow- 
er of  the  union  of  the  Free  States  to  render  hopeless  all  op- 
position, we  may  indulge  the  belief  that  the  contest  will  not 
involve  civil  war,  and  that  the  victory  will  be  bloodless.  The 
spirit  of  the  age,  which  is  gradually  becoming  the  pacific  spirit 
of  Christianity,  —  the  object  we  have  in  view,  which  confines 
us  strictly  to  a  defensive  policy,  —  the  absurdity  and  the  mad- 
ness, on  the  part  of  the  Slave-holding  States,  of  exposing 
themselves  to  the  certain  consequences  of  an  insurrection  of 
their  slaves,  while  they  commit  themselves  to  all  the  other 
hazards  of  a  war  for  slavery  with  their  free  neighbours,  —  all 
the  considerations  and  all  the  influences  which  pertain  to  the 
case,  seem  likely  to  combine  against  any  other  result  than  an 
unstained  triumph  of  principle  to  the  victors,  and  an  involun- 
tarily acquired  blessing  to  the  vanquished.  To  insure  a  pacific 
and  satisfactory  result,  our  efforts  should  be  directed  to  pre- 
vent what  it  will  not  be  so  easy  to  cure  ;  and  the  Slave-holding 
States,  before  they  shall  have  proceeded  so  far  as  to  make  it 
difficult  for  them  to  retrace  their  steps,  should  be  made  to  see 
and  feel  that  there  is  an  insuperable  obstacle  in  their  way, —  and 
that  they  can  never  succeed  in  intimidating  or  cajoling  the 
2 


14 

j 

Free  States  into  a  dishonorable  and  fatal  submission.  By  the 
avowal  of  our  principles  and  purposes,  and  by  the  manifesta- 
tion of  our  readiness  to  cooperate  with  each  other,  they  would 
be  enabled  to  see  that  we  understand  our  duty,  and  that  we 
pledge  our  character  to  perform  it ;  and  as  soon  as  they  feel, 
as  they  will  then  begin  to  feel,  that  they  cannot  safely  advance  a 
single  step,  —  that  disaster  and  disgrace  await  their  efforts, — that 
the  area  of  freedom  may  be  enlarged  within  the  Union  as  it  is, 
but  that  the  Union  can  never  be  extended  for  the  purpose  of 
augmenting  the  power  and  the  evils  of  slavery,  —  it  may  be 
presumed  that  they  will  hesitate,  pause,  and  begin  to  reflect, 
and  that  a  very  little  reflection  will  prompt  them  at  least  to 
self-preservation. 

In  advocating  the  expediency  of  acting  without  distinction 
of  party,  such  a  mode  of  proceeding  has  been  considered  as 
alone  worthy  of  the  object,  and  as  indispensable  to  its  success. 
Whigs  and  Democrats  may  be  supposed  to  be  now  as  much 
attached  as  ever  to  the  distinctive  principles  and  measures  of 
their  respective  parties.  But  as  neither  of  these  parties  has 
been  or  can  be  constituted  upon  the  avowed  basis  of  opposing 
the  annexation  of  Texas  and  the  extension  of  slavery,  it  is 
plain  that  neither  of  them  will  afford  a  suitable  organization 
for  the  purpose  in  view.  In  the  Slave-holding  States,  it  is  easy 
to  foresee,  that,  as  the  crisis  approaches,  party  divisions  will  be 
absorbed  in  the  devotion  of  all  their  citizens  to  the  promotion 
of  a  common  interest.  It  is  desirable  to  witness  in  the  Free 
States  a  corresponding  readiness  to  present  a  united  front  in 
the  maintenance  of  common  rights.  Unwelcome  as  may  be 
the  annunciation,  it  is  time  to  declare  that  no  national  party 
organization  can  be  maintained  in  good  faith  until  the  vexed 
question  of  the  political  power  of  slavery  shall  be  once  more  com- 
promised or  finally  disposed  of.  The  bitter  experience  which 
has  made  compromises  odious  warns  the  Free  States  to  pre- 
pare themselves  for  the  alternative,  by  a  timely  truce  to  the 
divisions  which  must  hinder  the  effect  of  the  combined  exer- 
tions of  all  their  citizens. 


15 

In  Massachusetts,  why  should  we  not  be  prepared  to  act 
without  distinction  of  party  ?  The  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  legislature,  with  perfect  unanimity,  have  already 
defined  the  course  of  the  State,  and  have  spoken  for  their 
constituents  in  a  tone  to  which  this  Appeal  is  but  a  faint 
response.  It  is  understood  throughout  the  country  ;  and  it 
is  easy  to  see  that  the  spirit  of  the  act  is  everywhere  deem- 
ed honorable  to  us  ;  that  in  reference  to  the  annexation  of 
Texas,  the  citizens  of  Massachusetts,  as  an  entire  body, — 
Whigs  and  Democrats  only  vying  with  each  other  in  their  zeal 
to  be  unanimous,  —  have  committed  themselves  to  the  last  ex- 
tremity of  uncompromising  and  unconditional  opposition.  All 
that  remains  for  us  is,  to  redeem  the  pledge,  and  imitate  the 
example  of  our  representatives. 

The  Whig  party  amongst  us,  none  can  doubt,  is  ready  to 
make  every  effort  and  every  sacrifice  which  the  occasion  re- 
quires. The  Abolitionists  must  rejoice  to  find  themselves  en- 
abled at  last  to  cooperate  with  their  fellow-citizens  for  a  pur- 
pose to  which  they  have  been  specially  devoted.  But  the 
Democrats,  it  is  surmised,  may  disappoint  our  hopes,  by  yield- 
ing to  a  party  obligation  to  sustain  the  President  of  their 
choice  in  carrying  into  effect  his  favorite  measure.  It  may  be 
that  a  portion  of  the  leaders  occupy  just  now  an  awkward  po- 
sition upon  this  subject,  from  which  they  cannot  readily  extri- 
cate themselves.  It  may  be  that  a  portion  of  the  party  will 
be  for  a  time  indisposed  to  lend  their  influence  for  any  other 
purpose  than  the  discouragement  of  our  efforts.  By  the  glare 
of  torch-light,  if  not  in  open  day,  they  have  inscribed  "  Annex- 
ation "  upon  their  party  banner,  and  all  their  calculations  in  po- 
litical astronomy  seem  to  be  founded  upon  the  approach  of  u  the 
lone  star"  to  the  national  constellation.  But  let  us  be  just 
enough  to  admit  that  the  Democrats  of  Massachusetts  have  not, 
as  yet,  as  a  party,  forsworn  their  legislative  pledge  ;  and  that 
there  is  reason  to  hope  that  honest  friends  of  equal  rights 
can  never  become  the  dupes  and  tools  of  the  supporters  of 


16 

slavery.  Let  us  rely  upon  many  of  them  to  remain  with  us 
upon  the  right  side  of  the  great  practical  question  of  American 
democracy ;  not  doubting,  that,  if  they  are  democrats,  they  will 
prove  themselves  free  citizens  of  Massachusetts,  and  as  ready 
as  any  others  to  vindicate  the  rights  and  promote  the  interests 
of  the  Free  State  which  gave  them  birth. 

Some  will  suggest,  that,  if,  once  and  again,  the  legislature  of 
Massachusetts  has  spoken  for  the  people,  and  without  party 
division,  —  if  the  public  sentiment  of  Massachusetts  is  already 
everywhere  understood,  — it  cannot  be  necessary,  and  is  hardly 
expedient,  to  "  make  assurance  doubly  sure,"  and  to  tc  do  the 
work  over  again."  To  this  suggestion  it  may  be  replied,  that 
it  is  our  duty  to  resist,  step  by  step,  the  progress  of  the  design 
which  we  have  undertaken  to  defeat  ;  and  that,  if  the  legisla- 
ture has  spoken  in  vain,  if  the  danger  has  increased,  if  the 
evil  is  approaching  its  consummation,  a  further  effort  should  be 
made  to  avert  it,  and  a  heavier  blow  should  be  added  to  those 
which  have  been  already  struck.  The  result  of  the  election 
produced  a  universal  sensation  of  renewed  alarm  amongst  the 
opponents  of  the  annexation  of  Texas  ;  and  no  one  can  have 
since  read  the  Message  of  the  President  and  the  correspon- 
dence of  Mr.  Calhoun,  without  feeling  that  the  aspect  of  the 
case  has  changed  for  the  worse,  almost  beyond  the  apprehen- 
sions of  the  most  desponding,  —  and  that  the  danger  has  now  be- 
come so  imminent  as  to  justify  and  require,  on  the  part  of  the 
people  of  the  Free  States,  not  only  renewed,  but  the  most 
direct,  concerted,  and  vigorous  action. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  in  our  community  there  is  a  general 
uneasiness  and  deep  anxiety  upon  this  subject,  - —  that  the  peo- 
ple desire  to  come  together  that  they  may  deliberate  and  act, 
and  that  they  anticipate  a  call  for  this  purpose.  The  practical 
question  is,  not  whether  any  thing  shall  be  done,  but  whether 
the  considerate  and  far-seeing  will  consent  to  step  forward 
when  they  are  expected  and  while  they  are  waited  for,  —  and 
not,  by  withholding  themselves  at  the  important  moment,  leave 


17 

it  for  others  with  less  wisdom  to  lead  and  direct  the  inevitable 
movement. 

If  any  thing  were  wanting  to  convince  the  people  of  Massa- 
chusetts that  their  relation  to  the  Slave-holding  States  cannot 
and  should  not  remain  what  it  is  now,  and  that  they  should 
begin  to  inquire  what  they  owe  to  their  character  and  their  rights 
when  both  have  ceased  to  be  respected,  it  would  seem  that  the 
recent  proceedings  of  the  people  of  Charleston  and  the  govern- 
ment of  South  Carolina  in  reference  to  SAMUEL  HOAR  might 
serve  to  dispel  the  last  illusion,  and  to  fix  attention  —  not  without 
a  practical  result — upon  the  legitimate  effects  of  the  slave-hold- 
ing system.  SAMUEL  HOAR,  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  as 
much  respected  as  any  amongst  us  for  his  virtues,  his  talents, 
and  his  services,  —  a  personification  of  the  highest  intellectual 
and  moral  traits  of  the  New  England  character,  —  proceeds  to 
South  Carolina,  under  the  authority  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  to  discharge  the  duties  of  a  legal  agent  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. The  object  of  his  agency  is  to  afford  legal  advice 
and  assistance  to  free  citizens  of  Massachusetts,  liable  to  be 
deprived  of  their  liberty,  without  the  imputation  of  any  crime, 
through  the  enforcement  of  a  law  of  South  Carolina,  which 
her  own  eminent  jurist,  in  the  capacity  of  a  Judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States,  had  years  since  declared 
to  be  utterly  unconstitutional.  Upon  his  arrival  in  Charles- 
ton, in  a  respectful  manner  he  announces  his  official  appoint- 
ment to  the  governor  of  the  State.  Before,  however,  he  can 
enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  and  while  he  is  demeaning 
himself  unoffensively  as  a  private  gentleman,  this  venerable 
man,  with  his  gray  hairs  and  his  immaculate  character,  is 
marked  as  the  victim  of  popular  fury.  In  the  face  of  day,  he 
is  rudely  ejected  from  his  lodgings,  and,  amidst  the  menaces 
of  a  mob,  —  with  his  daughter,  too,  as  the  sharer  of  his  dan- 
ger,— in  the  public  view  of  the  citizens  of  Charleston,  —  thus 
made  the  abettors,  because  the  passive  witnesses,  of  the  outrage, 
—  he  is  compelled  to  seek  safety  in  flight. 


18 

To  make  the  State  in  its  highest  capacity  responsible  for 
the  atrocity  perpetrated  by  its  citizens,  the  legislature  at  the 
same  time  see  fit,  by  a  series  of  Resolutions,  summarily  to  de- 
nounce the  object  and  official  character  of  the  agent  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  to  authorize  the  governor  to  exercise  the  power 
of  the  State  in  expelling  him  from  its  territory.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  the  official  ceremony  of  expulsion  could  not  have 
been  enacted,  and  that  this  characteristic  proceeding  of  the 
legislature  should  have  been  superseded  by  the  more  prompt, 
though  not  less  dignified,  action  of  the  mob.  For  the  present, 
let  it  suffice  to  say  that  the  deed  has  been  done,  and  that  it 
cannot  and  shall  not  be  forgotten.  It  shall  be  remembered  as 
despoiling  the  escutcheon  of  the  Palmetto  State  of  the  insignia 
of  its  former  civic  and  social  renown.  For  the  future,  let  no 
son  of  Massachusetts  incur  the  risk  of  presuming  upon  the 
hospitality  of  South  Carolina,  but  leave  her  in  her  infamy  to 
become  the  neglected  abode  of  a  degenerate  race. 

Let  SAMUEL  HOAR  return  to  Massachusetts  ;  but  let  him 
come  back  to  witness  the  spirit  with  which  his  wrongs  will  be 
redressed,  and  to  be  cheered  by  the  sympathy  which  will  be 
manifested  in  his  behalf.  Let  him  come  back  to  raise  his 
voice  where  he  will  be  heard  with  respect,  in  invoking  his  fellow- 
citizens  to  do  justice  alike  to  him  and  to  themselves,  and  to 
place  themselves  in  an  attitude  of  uncompromising  opposition 
to  all  the  unconstitutional  proceedings  and  designs  of  South 
Carolina.  Let  SAMUEL  HOAR  thus  present  himself,  and  be 
thus  received  in  the  proposed  Convention  of  Massachusetts. 

In  conclusion,  let  the  whole  subject  be  viewed  for  a  moment 
on  the  dark  side,  and  let  us  anticipate  the  crisis  in  its  most 
discouraging  aspect.  Let  us  take  it  for  granted  that  what  has 
been  recommended  is  to  any  important  extent  impracticable, — 
that  there  is  no  deeply  rooted  and  wide-spread  earnestness  of 
thought  and  feeling  among  the  people  of  the  Free  States,  — 
that  they  feel  no  concern  on  account  of  the  extension  of  slavery 
in  itself  considered,  and  that  they  have  ceased  to  calculate  its 


19 

consequences, — that,  while  the  many  have  thus  become  in- 
different, the  few  who  had  not  been  so  are  inert  through  des- 
pondency,—  that  the  result  of  the  election,  supposed  to  carry 
with  it  Annexation  as  a  matter  of  course,  has  caused  them  to 
feel  that  all  is  over,  that  a  protracted  struggle  must  be  fruitless, 
and  that  the  country  should  be  left  to  its  fate.  Let  us  sup- 
pose, when  there  is  so  much  that  seems  like  it,  that  all  parties 
hug  their  prejudices  and  animosities  too  closely  to  be  prepared 
to  reconcile  or  suspend  their  differences  for  the  common  good  ; 
that  Whigs  loathe  an  alliance  with  Abolitionists,  —  that  Ab- 
olitionists care  for  nothing  so  much  as  to  defeat  Whigs, — and 
that  Democrats,  as  a  party  in  power,  cannot  forego  the  spoils 
of  victory.  Let  us  submit  to  the  conclusion,  that  in  many  of 
the  Free  States,  if  circumstances  continue  as  they  are,  noth- 
ing will  be  attempted,  and  that  in  most  of  them,  as  yet,  nothing 
can  be  done.  As  some  would  persuade  us,  too,  let  us  do  the 
penance  to  suspect  that  even  Massachusetts  falters,  —  that  her 
leaders  hesitate, — that  they  are  still  counting  the  cost  of  the 
responsibility  she  has  already  assumed, — and  that  they  ponder 
the  policy  of  retiring  behind  the  larger  States,  and  of  waiting 
for  an  example.  With  so  many  discouragements  all  around, 
and  so  many  obstacles  before  us,  let  us  still  venture  to  ask  and 
to  answer  the  question, —  WHAT  is  OUR  DUTY?  Is  it  to 
cease  from  effort,  because  there  is  such  necessity  and  so 
much  scope  for  exertion  ?  Is  it  to  postpone  an  attempt  which 
can  only  become  the  more  hopeless  the  longer  it  is  delayed  ? 
Is  it  to  shut  our  eyes  to  the  true  state  of  the  case,  lest  the 
stern  rebuke  of  principle  should  silence  the  suggestions  of  ex- 
pediency, and  a  full  view  of  our  danger  should  make  us  feel 
that  there  is  no  alternative  but  a  death-struggle  ?  Is  it  to  wait 
for  others  when  we  are  ready  to  act  ?  Is  it,  in  the  worst  view, 
to  submit  at  once  to  what  through  our  irresolution  appea'rs  in- 
evitable, —  with  doe-faced  servility,  again  to  compromise  for 
our  disgrace,  and  to  abandon  for  ever  our  time-honored  station 
in  the  vanguard  of  freedom  ? 


20 


No  !  No  !  —  Massachusetts  must  be  Massachusetts  still. 
Founded  on  the  Rock  of  Plymouth,  the  strength  of  her  char- 
acter is  moral  and  religious  principle.  Baptized  in  the  fire  and 
blood  of  the  Revolution,  her  patriotism  will  abide  every  test, 
and  prove  itself  ready  for  any  crisis.  Rocked  in  the  Cradle 
of  Liberty,  her  children  cannot  be  unfilial.  Reared  in  Free 
Schools,  her  people  must  understand  their  duty.  With  her 
veteran  and  keen-scented  sentinel  upon  the  floor  of  Congress 
to  give  the  first  alarm  of  the  certainty  and  political  danger  of 
this  Texas j)lot,  —  with  the  spirit  of  her  sainted  CHANNING 
flashing,  with  a  ray  of  heavenly  illumination,  upon  every  dark- 
ened conscience  the  scorching  conviction  of  its  inhuman  and 
unchristian  tendencies,  —  with  her  trusted  Defender  of  the 
Constitution  about  once  more  to  take  his  post  in  her  behalf 
upon  what  seems  its  only  remaining  bulwark, —  Massachusetts 
must  be — is  she  not?  —  forewarned,  forearmed,  and  ready 
for  the  contest.  She  cannot  falter, — let  her  proceed.  Amidst 
difficulties  and  dangers  by  which  it  may  be  recognized,  the 
path  of  duty  lies  plain  before  her.  Let  her  heart  be  moved, 
—  all  fears  will  vanish,  and  every  unclean  spirit  will  be  cast 
out.  Let  her  voice  be  heard, —  the  country  and  the  world 
will  respond  to  it.  Let  her  act,  —  History  will  record  the 
event. 

To  sum  up  all  in  one  word,  —  the  crisis  is  at  hand.  MAS- 
SACHUSETTS is  READY.  It  only  remains  for  FANEUIL  HALL 
to  give  the  watchword,  A  CONVENTION  —  TO  THE  RESCUE  ! 

A  MASSACHUSETTS  FREEMAN. 


